Pioneer of organic certification in France and Europe, Ecocert celebrates its 30th anniversary this year, as does the first European regulation for organic farming!
The opportunity to retrace the unique journey of a historic player in the organic sector, which today also supports its clients through training, advice and certification of standards selected for their environmental and societal requirements!
Working with consumers, doctors, and teachers to advocate for a healthier, more environmentally friendly agricultural and food system, a group of engineers participated in the drafting of French and European regulations in the 80s. This visionary approach contributed to the growth of organic farming!
1991 marks the appearance of the 1er European regulation on plant production, which harmonizes agricultural practices according to the principles of organic farming. It formalizes the beginning of independent control known as 'third party' by certification bodies under the supervision of French and European authorities.
Founded in 1991 by William Vidal, one of the members of the French associative biological movement, Ecocert and the first organic certification body in France (associated code FR-BIO-01). Its objective: to support farmers and processors wishing to commit to organic farming by verifying that their production complies with French specifications, which will disappear in favor of harmonized European regulations a few years later.
With the rapid growth of organic farming and consumer enthusiasm for these labeled products, Ecocert quickly became the benchmark for organic certification in France, an expert in this field. Its brand has now become a guarantee of quality and trust for professionals, as for consumers when they make purchases.
Ecocert's commitments transcend borders, and the company expanded its reach in Europe and then abroad. With the aim of remaining as close as possible to its customers with quality service, and identifying an upstream need in organic sectors, its first international subsidiary was established in 1994.
Today, Ecocert has a network of 32 locally established subsidiaries and operates in more than 130 countries with 1700 employees. The arrival of Certisys, a new Belgian subsidiary since 2021, reinforces the group's desire for growth with long-standing players dedicated to organic products. At the same time, strong in its convictions, Ecocert continues to support the development of organic products in diet but also in the sector of cosmetic, textiles or eco-products through the creation of innovative specifications, developed in conjunction with consumers, associations and experts in these fields. For the cosmetics sector, Ecocert has been encouraging the implementation of good practices since 2002, with the first “Ecocert organic and ecological cosmetics” standard. In 2011, Ecocert co-founded COSMOS, the international benchmark label for organic and natural cosmetics. Ecocert also created specifications for, among other things, fair trade in 2007, recycled organic textiles in 2012 and collective catering (En Cuisine) in 2013.
This rigorous selection of so-called "third-party" labels, with demanding criteria, aims to achieve a positive impact on the environment and society.
Audit practices are constantly evolving to adapt to production, processing, and marketing practices, which are themselves extremely fluid. Huge advances in technology provide certification bodies with powerful tools that strengthen the relevance of their risk analyses and increase their level of monitoring. By intelligently combining the resources at their disposal, certification bodies, including Ecocert, continue to deliver increasingly reliable guarantees over time, to obtain certification that is not fixed in time but rather "real-time." Certification 2.0 is now a reality.
The consolidation of the Ecocert group continued over the years with the creation in 2014 of a division dedicated to training and consulting, independent of certification activities. Through these three services, Ecocert supports the various stakeholders (producers, companies, communities, etc.) in the deployment and promotion of sustainable practices.
Through its businesses but also its daily actions (eco-responsible head office, 100% offsetting of its carbon emissions each year, demanding sponsorships, etc.), Ecocert places CSR at the heart of its strategic project, convinced that companies have a societal role to play.
Strongly involved in environmental protection and social responsibility since 1991, always faithful to its values, in accordance with the founding principles of organic farming, Ecocert continues to defend quality production that respects living ecosystems, as well as better management of natural resources and energy, within socially responsible sectors. These are essential elements to respond to current economic, social and environmental challenges, in order to build the world of tomorrow.
As we celebrate its 30th anniversary in 2021, Ecocert would like to thank its 70,000 customers and partners around the world, who trust our expertise and choose to work with us for a sustainable world!
For more information : www.ecocert.fr